


With Style and With Grace

by sabinelagrande



Category: Stargate: Atlantis
Genre: Community: sg_femslash, Established Relationship, F/F, Fpreg
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-10-21
Updated: 2009-10-21
Packaged: 2017-10-06 13:08:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/53991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sabinelagrande/pseuds/sabinelagrande
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Elizabeth had never understood the phrase "infuriatingly calm" before.</p>
            </blockquote>





	With Style and With Grace

**Author's Note:**

  * For [havocthecat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/havocthecat/gifts).



Elizabeth had never understood the phrase "infuriatingly calm" before. Things were almost never calm in her world, and they certainly never stayed calm long enough to become even remotely irritating.

But as she sat across from Kate, she surely understood.

"I want to make sure we're both perfectly clear on this," Elizabeth said, in her best and most tactful voice. "You're going to have a child. You're going to have _my_ child."

Kate shrugged. "Motherhood is a normal part of life," she said. "I've never been opposed to the idea of having children, whether naturally or not."

"You were impregnated by an alien device against your will," Elizabeth tried. "Don't you feel a little bit angry about that?"

"I suppose it could have happened under more favorable circumstances," Kate allowed. She took Elizabeth's hands in her own, smiling. "But the important thing to focus on is that this is something special that we've been given."

_That_ was an understatement if Elizabeth had ever heard one.

\--

Elizabeth picked out their new quarters. She oversaw the move and made sure the right provisions were ordered for the nursery. She made contingency plans. She fell asleep- more than once- with her face mashed against a baby book. She got agitated and worried when someone sneezed within a five hundred foot radius of Kate. She was pretty much aware that she was making everyone involved miserable- not to mention herself- but she was ready to handle anything, up to and including a nuclear weapon going off during the delivery.

On the other hand, Kate got bigger and bigger and more beatific with every passing day. She accepted curiosity, rebuke, and praise as if they were all the same, smiling and nodding like everything was one and she was one with it.

She radiated love and light from every pore. She put decorations on the bathroom counter and sachets in the dresser drawers. She wrote little notes and left them in Elizabeth's shoes. Once, during a particularly trying staff meeting, she even managed to throw up politely, something Elizabeth had been totally sure was impossible.

Elizabeth wondered when flowers were going to start growing underneath her feet; it only seemed appropriate, since the sun already shone out of her ass.

\--

Of course, Kate had the child naturally. And of course, she bore the pain with quiet grace and dignity.

For the first three hours.

As the next contraction hit, Kate squeezed Elizabeth's hand, hard enough that Elizabeth could practically feel the bones rubbing together inside her palm. "I just wanted you to know that I hate you with every fiber of my being, and when this baby is gone I am going to kill you with my bare hands."

"I probably deserve it," Elizabeth reassured her, patting Kate's forehead with a towel.

"How can you be so fucking calm?" Kate demanded, through clenched teeth.

"I learned from the best," she replied, but it was lost underneath Kate's scream.

\--

"She looks like you," Kate said, much later, stroking her daughter's soft, pale skin with the backs of her fingers.

"Oh, I don't know," Elizabeth replied. "I have much more hair than that."

Kate smiled at her fondly, no less beautiful for the weariness in her face. "I'm sorry I acted so-" she started, but Elizabeth cut her off.

"I just want you to take a moment to think about this," she said calmly. "Do you realize you were about to apologize to me for losing control while you were pushing a human being out of your body with no pharmaceutical assistance?"

Kate blushed.

Elizabeth kissed her hair. "It's a good thing I can love you despite your perfections," she said, smiling.

"Thank you for sharing," Kate replied. "I'll make sure to work on them."


End file.
